How industry, tracks, partners are lending a hand in coronavirus response

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Staff ReportNASCAR.com
May 1, 2020 at 12:00 PM

The NASCAR industry, drivers and its partners are lending a hand as part of the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). Find out what work is taking place and how you can join and help in the effort.

TRACKSAtlanta Motor Speedway: The Georgia track is teaming up with The American Red Cross for a blood drive on May 4 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. local time at the Tara Ballroom in the trackside condominium complex. The track hosted a blood drive on April 6 as well. | LEARN MORE … The track along with Hampton Elementary and the Atlanta Community Food Bank will host four mobile market days at the track on May 1, 8, 15 and 22 starting at 11 a.m. ET. During each open market, families may receive 30 to 40 pounds of food items free of charge, while supplies last. The market days are open to anyone in the community and supplies are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. | LEARN MORE

Charlotte Motor Speedway: In partnership with the speedway, Atrium Health has created a Coronavirus Testing Center at zMAX Dragway, part of the Charlotte Motor Speedway complex. The remote testing site provides a convenient location for residents of northern Mecklenburg and Cabarrus Counties to have their tests performed, when ordered by their physician. Testing for COVID-19 is conducted without patients having to get out of their cars, which reduces the possibility of infecting other patients and healthcare workers. Tests are administered by appointment only from your physician. | LEARN MORE

The track is also hosting two blood drives. The first on May 6 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. local time is in partnership with The American Red Cross. To schedule an appointment, visit www.redcrossblood.org and enter the key word “Lapsforlife.” The second blood drive is on May 8 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. local time in partnership with Atrium Health and OneBlood. Donors are required to wear a face covering or mask while at the drive. To schedule an appointment, visit www.oneblood.org/speedway.

Daytona International Speedway: After a month of providing drive-up COVID-19 testing as a community service, AdventHealth will begin phasing out the screening over the next two weeks as the state of Florida and local businesses reopen. Since opening the first drive-up testing location at Daytona International Speedway, AdventHealth tested nearly 20,000 people (including more than 5,000 at Daytona International Speedway). Of those tested, less than 2 percent were positive. The tests were available to anyone with symptoms or close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, even if they are not currently experiencing symptoms. Those who wish to be tested do not need a doctor’s order prior to arrival. There are no out-of-pocket costs, regardless of insurance status. AdventHealth will cover the cost of those who are uninsured at the community drive-up testing sites. The test consists of spitting into a cup.

Dover International Speedway: The Delaware track is now a donation center, hosting a Personal Protection Equipment Community Donation Drive. Donors can drive up, but not exit their vehicle as Bayhealth personnel will remove the items. | LEARN MORE

Las Vegas Motor Speedway: The track hosted The American Red Cross of Nevada’s blood drives on March 27, April 2, 7 and 11 in the Thrive Hill Digital Center in speedway infield and will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. local time on those days. | LEARN MORE

Martinsville Speedway: The Virginia track worked with The Harvest Foundation and other local healthcare providers and government leaders to turn the speedway grounds into a COVID-19 testing center. As of April 8, the track is now open as a testing site but patients must be referred by their physician to be tested. Testing for now is scheduled for Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from noon to 4 p.m. local time. | LEARN MORE

Pocono Raceway: The Pennsylvania track has started the #Air5Challenge – a social media initiative geared towards spreading positivity and gratitude to individuals who are inspiring us right now. Follow the three-step process at the link here and The Mattioli Foundation in coordination with Pocono Raceway, will donate $1 each time the #Air5Challenge hashtag is used. They are pledging $5,000 for the Pocono Mountains United Way ‘Crisis Response Fund.’ | LEARN MORE

Texas Motor Speedway: The track will host a blood drive with The American Red Cross on May 6 at the Lone Star Condominium Clubhouse from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. local time. The track hosted a blood drive on April 1 as well. | LEARN MORE

DRIVERSJimmie Johnson: The seven-time champ set up a fundraising effort for the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, Inc. where anyone who donates at least $25 will be entered to win signed Jimmie Johnson race worn shoes. The winner will be selected randomly at the conclusion of the fundraising period after June 1. The Center for Disaster Philanthropy, Inc. is an organization that has started the CDP COVID-19 Response Fund which focuses on supporting local nonprofit organizations working in areas identified as having high numbers of affected individuals and those who are working with the most vulnerable populations in these areas to help build their capacity for response. | LEARN MORE

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Earnhardt has set up a fundraising effort for the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, Inc. where anyone who donates at least $25 will be entered to win a signed pair of skeleton racing gloves by Dale Earnhardt Jr. The winner will be selected randomly at the conclusion of the fundraising period after June 1. | LEARN MORE

Denny Hamlin: Hamlin and sponsor FedEx are teaming up to donate 60,000 meals to the food bank in his hometown of Chesterfield, Virginia. | LEARN MORE … Hamlin pledged $100 for each lap led in the iRacing Pro Series Invitational race at the virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway and $5,000 for winning the race in a donation through The NASCAR Foundation and Feed the Children to benefit families in the Homestead-Miami are affected by COVID-19. Hamlin won the race and led 14 laps to raise a total of $6,400. Hamlin revealed on Twitter that the Coca-Cola Racing Family matched his donation as well to bring the total from his donation and matching donations to over $40,000.

Hamlin is the latest athlete to join Fanatics’ ALL IN Challenge, which has pegged itself as the largest digital fundraiser ever. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver and three-time Daytona 500 winner announced he’s offering up the opportunity to play Michael Jordan’s new exclusive golf club in Florida alongside himself and PGA Tour’s Bubba Watson. That’s not all. In addition to the round of golf, the package will feature a private flight and VIP access to the 2021 Daytona 500. | LEARN MORE

Kyle Busch: Like Hamlin, the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion has joined Fanatics’ ALL IN Challenge, offering up a VIP experience for two guests to a future race. | LEARN MORE

Kurt Busch: Also joining in on Fanatics’ ALL IN Challenge, the Chip Ganassi Racing driver and 2004 Cup Series champion is offering up a helicopter ride to the NASCAR events at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where VIP passes will be waiting. He says it’ll be a “dream race weekend.” | LEARN MORE

Austin Hill, Max McLaughlin, Derek Kraus, and two Hattori Racing Enterprises employees are going to be racing weekly and we’re opening registrations up to the public for a minimum $5.00 donation to FeedNC.org in Mooresville. FeedNC.org’s pantry program provides groceries and prepared meals for over 700 hungry families around the Charlotte areas. The first race will be this Saturday night (3/28) at 8:00 p.m. ET with the trucks at Texas. | LEARN MORE

Brad Keselowski: Brad Keselowski’s Checkered Flag Foundation is partnering with Atrium Health Cabarrus and Mr. C’s restaurant to provide meals for healthcare providers working tirelessly to fight COVID-19. A donation of $10 will provide a meal to the medical professionals caring for our community. Additionally, his Keselowski Advanced Manufacturing company has worked with groups to meet demands for face shields for healthcare workers. | LEARN MORE

Joey Logano: The Joey Logano Foundation in partnership with Elevation Outreach has established a $1 million COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund. The funding will address a variety of needs including educational equity and access, medical supplies, food distribution and financial shortages throughout the greater Charlotte area and communities across the United States. | LEARN MORE

The Joey Logano Foundation partnered with The NASCAR Foundation, Convoy of Hope and Elevation Outreach to host a distribution event at Darlington Raceway on Monday, May 18.
INDUSTRY PARTNERS/TEAMSNASCAR R&D Center: The NASCAR Research & Development Center is printing face shields for local hospitals and doctors to help protect medical professionals as they treat COVID-19. Right now, hospitals in North Carolina and Georgia will be receiving masks that are made at the Concord, North Carolina facility. Senior Director of Aerodynamics and Vehicle Performance Eric Jacuzzi explained the process to NASCAR.com’s Alex Weaver in this video. | LEARN MORE

The Real Heroes Project: NASCAR is among 14 professional sports leagues taking part in “The Real Heroes Project,” a collaborative initiative to recognize and celebrate healthcare workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Athletes are dedicating their jerseys and uniforms to a special healthcare hero who is helping their community on the forefront of this global crisis. Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick are taking part in this program. | LEARN MORE

The NASCAR Foundation: Through its website, The NASCAR Foundation is collecting donations to help families in need. Proceeds will go directly to delivering food, supplies, safety items and more to racing communities impacted by COVID-19 pandemic. In conjunction with the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race at virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway, proceeds went to Feed the Children in the Homestead-Miami area. In conjunction with the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series races at virtual Texas Motor Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway, the foundation worked with Speedway Children’s Charities — the official charity of Speedway Motorsports. For the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race at virtual Richmond Raceway, proceeds will go to Blessings in a Backpack. For the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race at virtual Dover International Speedway, the charity partner for response to COVID-19 is the Bayhealth Foundation in partnership with The NASCAR Foundation. | LEARN MORE

Stewart-Haas Racing: The race team repurposed two of its 53-foot haulers — typically used for transporting the race cars to tracks across the country — to pick up 2 million face masks and deliver them to healthcare provider Novant Health, replenishing its supplies and ensuring its frontline team members are protected. | LEARN MORE. … SHR also announced May 11 that it has produced webcam carts for use in intensive care units by Novant Health. Stewart-Haas delivered 10 carts with plans to make 110 more. The units allow remote monitoring of patients, limiting exposure for healthcare workers on the front lines. The webcam carts are also coated with an anti-microbial finish from Axalta to facilitate easier cleaning. | LEARN MORE

Richard Childress Racing: Team owner Richard Childress launched an auction and sale of memorabilia and other items to benefit national and local COVID-19 relief efforts. The auction and sale include thousands of rare, hard-to-find and exclusive items from RCR’s 50-plus years in NASCAR. Among items being auctioned is an original No. 3 Chevrolet once raced by Dale Earnhardt, complete with the engine. This will mark the first time Childress has parted with an original Earnhardt car from his collection. | LEARN MORE … RCR has also used the organization’s water jet machine to produce full-face shields, following a design formulated at Georgia Tech. The team is shipping the shields and final assembly instructions to healthcare facilities across the USA. | LEARN MORE

Roush Fenway Racing: The race team’s shop is manufacturing a device similar to that of a “sneeze guard” at a salad bar. The device works as a clear guard is placed over the patient in bed, covering his or her upper body from head to about chest level. There are two holes that allow physicians and nurses access, but the protection helps prevent the kind of immediate exposure that has spread the virus. | LEARN MORE

Team Penske: The organization is assisting Stratasys — a technical partner for Team Penske — by making 3D-printed face shields at the race shop. | LEARN MORE

Hendrick Motorsports: The organization’s team of engineers have focused on production of personal protective equipment, teaming with physicians at Charlotte-based Atrium Health. Its 3-D printers and laser cutters have been put to use to make reusable face shields for front-line health-care workers. | LEARN MORE

Wood Brothers Racing: The race team is raising money to purchase tablets for seniors in an effort to help keep the seniors in touch with family that may not be able or allowed to visit in their nursing homes and assisted living facilities. | LEARN MORE

Kyle Busch Motorsports: The organization is using its Stratasys 3D printing device to help produce face shields. | LEARN MORE

Halmar Friesen Racing: The Gander Trucks organization is using its race hauler — which usually brings the No. 52 entry for driver Stewart Friesen to the track — to deliver 16 tons of food to areas in need over a two-day stretch. | LEARN MORE

Ford: The automobile manufacturer is partnering with 3M, GE and UAW to use assembly to manufacture ventilators. | LEARN MORE … Ford drivers participating in the eNASCAR Pro Invitational iRacing Series at virtual Richmond plan to run special paint schemes to raise awareness and show support for Ford’s Project Apollo, an effort to produce respirators, masks, PPE and COVID-19 test collection kits. | LEARN MORE

3M: The company is partnering with Ford, GE and UAW to use assembly to manufacturer ventilators and is also stepping up its production of key medical supplies. | LEARN MORE
Dixie Vodka: The company will donate 10 percent of all online sales to the USBG Foundation focused on the Bartenders Emergency Assistance Program.

DraftKings: From March 24 to April 7, #DKRally will run in an effort to create a large-scale social engagement campaign to raise awareness of the importance of charitable giving to those in need as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. DK is hoping to reach its goal of donating $1,000,000 to the United Way’s COVID-19 Relief Efforts after its initial donation of $500,000. | LEARN MORE

Fanatics: The sports retailer — which sells the official gear for several sports leagues, including NASCAR — has shifted its production of Major League Baseball uniforms to use the fabric for much-needed protective masks and hospital gowns for healthcare and emergency workers. | LEARN MORE

FedEx: In addition to keeping its shipping operations moving amidst higher demand during the crisis, FedEx has worked with the U.S. government to quickly transport COVID-19 test specimens from 50 remote drive-thru locations across 12 states, devoting 28 flight legs to assist with a rapid testing response. The company has also coordinated with global relief efforts, deploying medical shelters and transporting medical supplies and aid internationally. | LEARN MORE

Anheuser-Busch: The beer manufacturer is partnering with the Red Cross and sports partners to convert empty arenas and stadiums into temporary centers for blood donations large enough to accommodate social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. | LEARN MORE. … Everyone could use a companion for the couch right now. So if you foster (or adopt) a dog from Midwest Animal Rescue, Busch will give you three months’ worth of Busch to enjoy by their side | LEARN MORE (MUST BE 21+)

Toyota: Toyota Motor North America, Inc. and its affiliates across 13 states have donated $500,000 to the United Way to assist those in need with food, water, childcare and other emergency relief needs. | LEARN MORE

Coca-Cola: The philanthropic arm of The Coca-Cola Company, The Coca-Cola Foundation awarded $13.5 million in grants to five non-profit organizations (Feeding America, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada, Food Banks Canada and Center for Disaster Philanthropy) working on the front lines of U.S. and Canadian humanitarian response to the coronavirus pandemic. | LEARN MORE

Elgin Sweepers and parent company Federal Signal are working directly with those on the frontlines to reclaim, recover and revive outdoor spaces during this time. This includes use of sprayer and vacuum systems to sanitize outdoor areas, as well as the manufacturing of face shields to protect essential workers. | LEARN MORE

Verizon: The company launched Pay it Forward Live, a weekly streaming entertainment series that will include music, gaming, comedy and more in support of small businesses affected by COVID-19. Dave Matthews was the first performer to take part in a 30-minute performance from home. Over the course of the series, all viewers who tune in will be encouraged to tag their favorite local businesses and make a purchase in advance for when businesses reopen. Verizon donated $2.5 million to Local Initiatives Support Corporation, a national nonprofit that has invested $20 billion to fuel economic opportunity for people and communities across America. | LEARN MORE

Amazon Web Services: The company has launched the AWS Diagnostic Development Initiative—a program to support customers who are working to bring better, more accurate, diagnostics solutions to market faster and promote better collaboration across organizations that are working on similar problems. As part of this, it is committing an initial investment of $20 million to accelerate diagnostic research, innovation, and development to speed our collective understanding and detection of COVID-19 and other innovate diagnostic solutions to mitigate future infectious disease outbreaks. | LEARN MORE